Tilton, Georgia is in Whitfield County and was established as a watering depot on the Western & Atlantic Railroad. By 1860, Tilton was a thriving little Southern town.

In 1854, a blacksmith named J. J. Martin moved his family to Whitfield County, and then to the little town of Tilton in 1858. There the Martin family served meals and rented rooms to the workers and passengers on the railroad. In addition to being a blacksmith he and his two sons, Micajah and William, also operated a gunsmith shop. The other gunsmith in Tilton was thirty-four year old William Floyd Carroll. Martin and Carroll joined together to form Martin, Carroll & Co.

With the outbreak of the Civil War Martin, Carroll & Co. turned their attention to producing swords and sabers and became known as the Tilton Armory. It was said that “The armory at Tilton turned out a large number of swords and sabers for the Confederate services.” This statement is supported by granddaughter Eulalie Martin Lewis in her chronology of the Martin family history. She adds, “The armory was in my grandfather’s blacksmith shop. He, with the assistance of a few other men who were too old for military service, manufactured these weapons.”

The particular things to look for in a Tilton sword are an unpierced basket, a stopped fuller, a broad quillon and the most definitive item of all, the screw that attaches the knuckle bow to the pommel. No other maker has this feature.

The Tilton Armory sword offered her has a blade that is 30 1/8 inches long with a stopped fuller that runs approx. 19 ¾ inches. Both sides of the ricasso are blank. The blades surface is bright with moderate scattered mottling along with moderate scattered pitting and oxidation. The oxidized area is on the lower third of the blade near the point. A close examination shows the point of the blade to be slightly rounded. The true edge is free of nicks.

The hilt has a pommel cap decorated with poorly cast laurel leaves. The grip is rather thin and is covered in black leather with 13 courses of plain, untwisted brass wire. The leather shows some surface wear and the wire is complete and unbroken. The knuckle bow and guard are of plain brass, devoid of all decoration or piercing. The quillon is wide and plain. Visible on the underside top of the knuckle bow is the screw attaching it to the pommel cap.  [ad] [ph:L]

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